Ideas for Increasing NEMBA Membership?

[pk]

One of NEMBA's goals for 2004 is to dramatically increase our membership, and I'd like to seek your input in how to make this possible. So please share your ideas, no matter how creative!

Most new members join us through the following channels:

1) Website
2) Membership applications found in bike shops
3) SingleTracks
4) Word of mouth -- ie. friends telling friends they should join.
5) Our MTB Adventure Series or other events.

What else do you all recommend?

pk

[Jisch]

How about information of some sort at common meet points for rides? At many CT riding spots (state forests/parks) there are information boards. Would they allow us to hang a box where we could store NEMBA flyers? At others, a simple mailbox type thing with flyers in it. I recognize the possibility of vandalism is high, but if it were unobtrusive maybe it would fly under the radar of vandals. I assume most folks are like me - we ride the same 6 or 7 rides over and over again. I'd have no problem keeping a supply of flyers in my truck and replenish where I ride.

When I meet folks on the trail and talk about NEMBA, most have just simply never heard of it.

John

[bdee]

How about some sort of incentive deal involving bike shops and new memberships? Say a shop "donates" a basic membership for every new mountain bike sale over a certain dollar amount - like $1500.00. Hitting a predetermined level of memberships would earn the shop recognition as well as ad space in Singletracks. Essentially they would be paying for the ad space by helping to sign up new members. The shop that yields the largest number of new members could get a piece written about them in Singletracks or be promoted as a sponsor at events like Nembafest or on the website etc.
It could be structured as a contest/challenge among interested bike shops. It especially wouldn't hurt to ask shops that are not already sponsoring NEMBA currently ( I can name a few).
I don't know if any lost money in regular advertising dollars would be offset by the money flowing in via new basic memberships or not. That said, once new members have been exposed to NEMBA and it's services they may donate some more cash down the line (that's the idea anyways). That's my two cents - I know I'll still be trying to get people to join the old fashioned way, by word of mouth.

[turch]

I ran a test case with a flyer box at Penwood over the past month or so. Most flyers have disappeared and I see no litter around the parking lot. I think that the idea has some merit, enough so that I want to talk it up with some of my DEP contacts and possibly cobble up a batch of boxes and place them at a few locations.

[sizlinseagulsoup]

How about some sort of incentive deal involving bike shops and new memberships? Say a shop "donates" a basic membership for every new mountain bike sale over a certain dollar amount - like $1500.00. Hitting a predetermined level of memberships would earn the shop recognition as well as ad space in Singletracks. Essentially they would be paying for the ad space by helping to sign up new members. The shop that yields the largest number of new members could get a piece written about them in Singletracks or be promoted as a sponsor at events like Nembafest or on the website etc.
It could be structured as a contest/challenge among interested bike shops. It especially wouldn't hurt to ask shops that are not already sponsoring NEMBA currently ( I can name a few).
I don't know if any lost money in regular advertising dollars would be offset by the money flowing in via new basic memberships or not. That said, once new members have been exposed to NEMBA and it's services they may donate some more cash down the line (that's the idea anyways). That's my two cents - I know I'll still be trying to get people to join the old fashioned way, by word of mouth.


Your idea is great, however, many of these people are not going to become "members;" their name will be in our database for a year and we'll never see a dime again. I honestly think the best way to start gainning membership is to attempt to get more publicity from outside the cycling community. I know that there are many well-read cyclists that have never heard of NEMBA. If there was more of a push to get local media to do special interest stories on our projects, membership (or at least name-recognition) would increase.

Perhaps if we hung up signs that said "trail created/maintained by NEMBA" and gave a short explaination what NEMBA was, trail users would be educated on our involvement and committment and be more apt to join.

A smile
Eye Contact
A glove box full of applications
A milk crate full of old singletracks

PK, it is interesting to know where people are signing up. Are those in order. If so, it would seem people are finding us instead of us finding them. I suggest more parking lot interaction with riders we all see.
Also, do we know why people join NEMBA? Once people join, are their expectations fulfilled?
In my experience it was easy to join NEMBA. It was hard to get "in" to NEMBA. I feel i put alot of effort towards building relationships. I don't think most people want to put the effort out, and i don't think anyone should have to. I think I'm talking about public relations.

Here is my plan. Advertise a series of rides, have a shop sponsor and promote the event. Run the whole ride like a singles dance where the goal is to get people together for shared fun. Make up teams to achieve goals. Have ice cream after. Just like we were a big company having an outing. People like to feel like they belong to something.

Also, Can someone figure out what makes a good ride. Can we then offer training for ride leaders so people don't go on one ride, get dropped, feel inadequate, and quit. Do all the led rides have to be a race? Lets come up with a formula, write it down, train some folks, call them ambassadors or something, invite the newbies on some rides.

I bought a bike because i wanted to ride a bike
I have skis cause i like to ski
I have a camper cause i like the woods
I joined an organization to be with people. I think most members joined for the same reason.

bill
i could be wrong

[SloMoJo]

I like Jisch's idea.

Then some of us could "adopt" a local ride area to keep the flyers available at the trail head.

[bdee]

I love the realists in New England ! It's half the reason I moved back from down south. Kevin - I think you are right that a lot of members gained via bike sales would eventually drop off of the database. That's a given with a free membership to anything. By setting the criteria fairly high (mid level to higher priced bikes) I think you could weed out the occasional riders from the enthusiasts. Even if NEMBA only realized a handful of regular donors out of each shop involved it might be worth it - it would especially be worth it if those members joined through a shop that is not currently involved in sponsoring NEMBA currently (admittedly these would be the hardest to get on board with the idea).

The shop also has the incentive to earn exposure to a core group of riders via NEMBA (we spend more on a regular basis). There may be more incentive if the shop can write off the donated memberships - PK should know if that is possible. Shops are a great place to gain exposure, and the ones that aren't interested now will need some reason to get involved (other than the obvious ones that escape them).
Parking lots at popular riding areas are another great place to try to spread the word. Places like Foxboro, Arcadia etc are packed on Saturday and Sunday mornings. I don't think a membership drive on a beautiful day would be a bad idea at any packed trailhead parking lot.
I don't think it is hard to join NEMBA or find out about it if you are a rider that reads cycling press (BIKE, Dirtrag etc.), or if you already hang out at a shop that supports the organization. The hardest part in my view is the convincing people why they need to join, getting them to the events and group rides and demonstrating what NEMBA has done for the sport.
It may be even harder to convince shops of the need for their support in general - I've worked for (very shortly) and have been exposed to owners who have no interest in anything but making a buck, and they have no qualms telling you this point blank. It's one of the reasons I stopped being a wrench (OK, that and poverty).
All right this is going way to long - I look forward to seeing what we come up with to drum up members.

[C.P.]

Membership drive=good idea

Maybe we should consider setting some hard number goals - ie How many members does NEMBA want to increase by? Make them agressive but realistic - use the data we already have - number of members we have in each chapter, how much we have been increasing membership with current channels of growth...etc.

It has been shown, All endeavors have better chances of being executed with complete success if we have a target or plan - just like the target we just attained with purchase of 47 acres. we all knew the botttom line that we all had to raise X dollars that had to be attained.

Myself, I'll be upping membership by working to meet folks while in parking lot, or on the trail.

[pk]

Last year we had 954 new members. This year, I'd personally like to see that number tripled.

pk

[Paula]

I know some of mentioned this before, but giving brochures to the trail ambassadors so that they can pass them out to people in the parking lot or on the trail seems to get the word out about the organization. This is very difficult to track though. I think having events such as organized rides, picnics, etc that are well publicized helps to bring in members.

[splat]

Have you thought about Approacing the Roadie Groups ? The CRW , NBW , NEBC, MRC, NSC, GSW , 7HW, NVP and others I don't know about ? I mean Do a joint ride with the groups ( I can help you with CRW, I'm a Member, ex- BOD, and a ride leader ). and the Main reason I joined NEMBA was for the rides and the Advocacy. and there are lots of Roadies who hit the MT bike in the off season. NEBC has a whole series of off road rides in the off season. ( or at least they used too)

Milk the Vietnam ! , We own it Flaunt it ! Advertise rides ( with roadies , Bike shops , etc ) and Make it know , that is with your support ( meaning Memebers and members to be ) we can do great things. hear again , I have lead lots of rides through there , I would be more than Happy to give a Tour or 2

[bob24250]

I think justbill has hit one of the nails directly on the head here.

In my experience it was easy to join NEMBA. It was hard to get "in" to NEMBA. I feel i put alot of effort towards building relationships. I don't think most people want to put the effort out, and i don't think anyone should have to. I think I'm talking about public relations.

I have posted here on the site a few times and some of you may know I moved here a couple of years ago. One of the first things I did was to find a shop that serviced my bike and started asking questions about ride locations, maps, and clubs. The BicycleLink in Weymouth was very helpful and told me if I joined any club at all make sure it was NEMBA. Which was easy, website, check, done. I got a card and a couple of stickers. And that is where it stayed until just recently.

This year I decided to pay my dues and try to get more active. However, (at least in my case) a few little things may have provoked this response 2 years ago. For example, have the leader of a chapter send the new member a personal email inviting them to the next meeting. Have a ride leader do the same thing. Currently everyone gets the same canned invites and in the beginning they are very easy to overlook. Try to get more info on the new members such as the parks they ride in and then ensure they are personally invited to trail building exercises etc at that park. One of the things that got me coming back to this site was the list of trails and trial maps. CTYankee posted a map of a park that I believe is in CT that I think is fantastic. Currently this year I have inquired twice about becoming part of the Bike patrol, however have not received a response.

You can put up a hundred signs in a thousand parks. You can put a million hand bills in boxes all over the state. You can have a ride every day and a function every weekend, but the one thing that will get more members than all of these combined is a smile, a handshake, and an invite from an ACTIVE member.

[EVIL BOTA]

I agree with bill also. I think if you could find a way to get people to go on just one group ride.Get em out and see that its a blast riding and meeting new people. I think alot of people are intimidated and won't show up to a ride by themselves. We have to make it seem easy and get them out . Thats what it took for me. One ride with Splat and SMJ.
New people new places to ride. Maybe advertise on that aspect?

[CTYankee]

Down here in SW CT NEMBA is a relatively unheard of group amongst most riders and shops. This past summer I organized a TM day in Trumbull. I called, emailed or visited every bike shop in the area. About half knew of NEMBA, but none have an active relationship. The other half confused NEMBA with IMBA or never heard of NEMBA at all. Most are open to helping what we do (post TM flyers, pass along the info as people ask...apparently some shops get a lot of customers asking them who maintains the local trails).

The riders are even more unaware. When I go out doing the Trail Ambassador thing and talk with people only about 25% have heard of NEMBA. Most ask what we do and are pretty suprised to hear how involved NEMBA is. Very few are actually members. Once they all hear what we do they get interested in joining. Seems they think NEMBA is like IMBA...a place you send your money and get a few stickers in the mail. They are unaware of the local TM, rides, festivals, and other involvement. I'm no salesman and I can sell NEMBA. So its a good 'product' we are just stuck on the bottom shelf where no one thinks to look.

In my experience its all been about exposure. Get the message out there and people will buy into it.

So what can we do to get the name out there.
1) TA program. Hands on, face to face, bike to bike, 'what have you done for me lately' stuff. They learn about NEMBA, see its a real organization with real people who do very real things.

2) Post info at trailheads. Ideally ones that we are involved at. Maybe highlight recent projects as well as advertise ucoming ones. I usually get non members that show up. They are a captive audience at that point. Another easy sell. Not just because you can tell them all about NEMBA (not that I ever give anyone the hard sell, but your basic this is what NEMBA is all about as they ask), but also becuase those people are the ones willing to get involved and give of themselves.

3) Hand out flyers. I had a few dozen 2 years ago. Went through them in a few rides. Never saw a single one littering the trail or parking lot.
BUT I NEED MORE!!! How can we get our hands on them?

4) Website. Local riders are drawn to local websites. www.visionmtb.com if you need proof. NEMBA's website lacks a community feel. Its more of a resource website. To put it in college social terms....NEMBA's website is like going to the library rather than the student center. Draw in more local traffic from non members and I imagine many will join, or at least be closer to joining than they once were. The forums are a good first step, but maybe a gallery for member to post pics from rides.

5) Shops. If they don't know what NEMBA is, how can they tell the potential members that go in and out their doors each day. I realize its unlikely every shop will want to have an active relationship with NEMBA, but for so many to be unaware of what NEMBA is is just not acceptable. Why not a NEMBA store pack that is sent out. Has handouts, that years TM schedual for the area, and send Singletracks to every store as it comes out for them to leave around for people to read as they wait.

6) Web presence (not www.nemba.org). Go to a site like www.mtbr.com and you won't see any mention of NEMBA (any local MTB group for that matter) aside from posts is not helping anyone. Maybe call to Francois (the owner) to set up a local advocacy board? That way people who are unaware whats out there for them where they live can get info.



It just comes back to one thing. We need to find them. The product is good and the 'brand' is stronger than ever (Nam purchase). In my industry most of the money goes towards marketing b/c it is sooooo much more important than the product. People will buy it just because. If you have a good product they'll buy it again. NEMBA has done a great job making a great product, but needs to do a much better job marketing itself.

[Adam]

Get the word out to groups other than the 'usual suspects' already active in the NEMBA community. I'd suggest doing more collaborative marketing with racing groups like EFTA and any adventure racing organization (Genesys Adventures) that sponsors events where you'll find mountain bikers in the New England area.

-Adam

[OldSloDoggie]

[You can put up a hundred signs in a thousand parks. You can put a million hand bills in boxes all over the state. You can have a ride every day and a function every weekend, but the one thing that will get more members than all of these combined is a smile, a handshake, and an invite from an ACTIVE member.
I agree 100%
My 2c worth as newbie, rider and member. taking the liberty of speaking for I think are the vast majority of riders out here. Think of a pyrimid, with the best riders at the very peak. Nunmbers wise, we are not at the peak, but at the base of the prymid. Could more efferots be directed at us rank and file riders ? From monitoring the web sight / msg boards / rides boards, very little (Skils Clinic) is toughted for us, leading to the "why should I Join" thought process. For Vietnam, the feather in our cap, the virtural image is super tehnical rding, best left to the most advanced Suggestion: led ride for all + prospective members) . Group lead rides, some good some bad experences. Worst was several summers ago,a group ride turned to race, turning prospective members, me +2, off for many years. Best, group ride geared to the pace of the grop. hard to do I know. Balance of boredom vs misery.
Just some food for thought from the self apointed typicall "base of the pyramid" rider. The numbers are here, the challenge is " Why should I join "
A smile, handshake, and invite. The door is opened

[Tim]

Along with the other ideas, I think that a continuing emphasis on family membership would help attract people. I attended NEMBAfest and the Blue Hills trail day, both of which were just super to go to with the whole family. And yet I did see that most of the kids there were with parents who I would classify as "serious" bikers -- at least from looking at the hardware.

Additional events throughout the year, possibly geared to the family that is just starting out, might bring in some folks.

Tim

[steve_b]

The biggest area to increase new membership in is the casual / family type of rider. If you go on group rides in the Greater Boston area, you see a lot of the same people at each place. I live in Clifton Park, NY and have observed this, and I probably only drop in on 6-8 rides a year. And you know what? They all seem to be hammer pace. I don't mind a bit, but if you are looking to bring in new members (and keep them) you have to appeal to the masses.

I did a ride this past August with a local NEMBA chapter (and where/when isn't important), and there were 8 of us. I settled towards the back of the pack as I didn't know the trails and was an "outsider" to the group. There was 1 other guy behind me. Twice during the ride I stopped at an intersection to wait for him, and the group just took off. We found them the first time, but never saw them the second time. Well, that's not technically true, we saw them back at the parking lot. :o Not what I would call an experience that would have me coming back anytime soon. >:(

[fvh420]

The idea posted earlier about free memberships with bike purchases via shops is actually really good - I have a direct marketing back ground. The new members will receive "singletracks", if they are new to riding they will learn about places to ride and a % of them will pay to re-new. This also develops a qualified prospect list for NEMBA. This is a method used by magazines to grow circulation. Dirt Rag handed me a free issue at the 24 hours of Snowshoe years ago, I read it and subscribed. The Wall Steet Journal sends of free issues for weeks and them askes for subscriptions. A % of people won't care but it is a targeted effort. Bike Shops will have something of value to help sales and people who actually get into riding will make better customers (stuff breaks).

Another idea comes from my recent trip to Florida - At the entrance to a local Mt bike park they had a volunteer asking for donations/memberships into the local club that helps build and maintain the trails. I donated knowing that whenever I visit my parents I will have a place to ride.

I joined NEMBA to support the local group that helps keep the trails open so I can ride.

FVH

[Jisch]

Some great suggestions. I see three that bear further exploration:

1) Free membership with bike

2) Flyers at common meet points

3) Contact after someone signs up to get them involved
- maybe a box to check on the flyer:
( ) I DO NOT want to have a current member contact me with more information about NEMBA activities

All three of these appear to be things that could be distributed among the current members and accomplished with minimal time commitment.

John

[johnbryanpeters]

Free or reduced membership with bike purchase, check. The hell with limiting it to high end bike buyers. I'm cheap, but I maintain trails.

Send a current event schedule with mailers to new or renewing members.

Figure out some small handouts that I can carry on the trail - they must be able to survive living in my backpack, which is a little trick - print 'em on trail marker stock? That could be dual purpose.

Initial and sustained personal contact is the key.

Get more chapters on the perimiter - the closest chapter to me is an hour and a half south.

J

[smartcycles]

I'd like to offer NEMBA some visibility in our race series marketing this year...our sponsor CABLEVISION, will be providing us with visibility on its TV and internet mediums for about 6 months...Jeff Lenosky, a national trials champion is going to be our "poster boy" and "star" in a 30 minute EPK (Electronic Press Kit) that will air on the systems throughout the region as well as be distributed by our new PR director (who happens to be the pr director for CABLEVISION) to various media outlets. Our push is going to be to present mountain biking as a healthy, challenging, FAMILY based activity...analternative to TV, video games, and too much PIZZA!

The reach of this plan will be enourmous, if you need a reference on how deep it will go...ask the Sound Cyclists Club and organizers of Spin Odyssey...we'll be getting nearly $50,000 in legit visibility...come and jump on our back NEMBA!

We'd also be willing to put links and membership forms on our website, which averages 600 to 1000 visitors a day.

Contact me....alex@smartcycles.com

[tmorash]

Speaking as the Director of a relatively small membership-driven nonprofit organization in New England (visit prcboston.org), I must admit that a lack of sufficient resources often curtails the number of initiatives that I can develop. Accordingly, I look to develop programs that maximize available resources. Two years ago, we redesigned our website, expanded its content, and (very important) commited to frequent updates. Since, web visitation has quadrupled, and it has become our primary source for disseminating timely information as well as new member acquisition. The resources need to develop and maintain this project are minimal.

Based on the information that I have read on this site, NEMBA's website is also an important resource for the organization. However, I do not feel that it conveys the energy and enthusiasm of its members, not to mention the terrific efforts of PK and pals. While these message boards are relatively interesting (though I feel it is only regularly used by 5-10 users), the rest of the website is stagnant--design and content-wise. Knowing that cyclists in New England are a relatively web-savvy bunch, I feel that honing the NEMBA web-experience will do much to increase overall interest in the organization. At the very least, I think that a regularly changing home page (content changed once a week?) tells visitors, "Someone is home. Come on in." The key, of course, is to find someone to give the website a makeover, and to serve as webmaster, pro bono. It may be easier than you think.

[CTYankee]

Speaking as the Director of a relatively small membership-driven nonprofit organization in New England (visit prcboston.org), I must admit that a lack of sufficient resources often curtails the number of initiatives that I can develop. Accordingly, I look to develop programs that maximize available resources. Two years ago, we redesigned our website, expanded its content, and (very important) commited to frequent updates. Since, web visitation has quadrupled, and it has become our primary source for disseminating timely information as well as new member acquisition. The resources need to develop and maintain this project are minimal.

Based on the information that I have read on this site, NEMBA's website is also an important resource for the organization. However, I do not feel that it conveys the energy and enthusiasm of its members, not to mention the terrific efforts of PK and pals. While these message boards are relatively interesting (though I feel it is only regularly used by 5-10 users), the rest of the website is stagnant--design and content-wise. Knowing that cyclists in New England are a relatively web-savvy bunch, I feel that honing the NEMBA web-experience will do much to increase overall interest in the organization. At the very least, I think that a regularly changing home page (content changed once a week?) tells visitors, "Someone is home. Come on in." The key, of course, is to find someone to give the website a makeover, and to serve as webmaster, pro bono. It may be easier than you think.



I could not agree more. I've mentioned it before but it bears mentioning again.... www.visionmtb.com There are more active members of that website/community than here. They represent MTBers on Long Island...who rides an MTB on LI?!! Yet they are far more active and 'alive' than a New England MTB website? Its pretty obvious that this site is not being utilized to its fullest potential.

Not to beat this topic to death, but...
-Front page topics are from October and April. Is that all thats happened recently? Nothing happened from April until October?
-Digital NEMBA...Coming soon. You sure? Hasn't than been there for over a year?
-Pictures? As far as I can tell there is just the one of the guy riding with his dog. If this is an MTB website, why don't we see people riding bikes?
-And yes, the format, layout and graphics are showing their age.

I know its not easy maintaining a website, but this is a great resource that seem to have been put out to pasture.

Oh, and that offer from Smartcycles sounds like one that NEMBA should jump all over.

PS, where can we get more of those trifold flyers? I need more and can't seem to find anyone who has an idea how to get them.

[fellsbiker]

Hmmm I'll admit this is a long thread and I only skimmed it, I hope I'm not posting any doubles...

[1] Student Memberships - Standard membership for an individual is $20. You're probably more likely to get more members to join if you had a $10 student option. It might attract more poor college kids, but even better, I'm thinking high school kids! Get 'em hooked early! Like crack, only good for ya!

[2] Up to date web site! Some pages on your site haven't changed in a very long time. I haven't seen a "@mediaone.net" email address in a while but I still see "@attbi.com" email's all around. A more up to date web site would bring more people to it more often.

[3] Let people know NEMBA exists! NEMBA bumper stickers?
Also, when you hold events, try to get media there! Even something small like trail maintenance days! Have you seen the stoneham paper? It doesn't take much to make the front page ;) Try to get as many people as possible to hear the name NEMBA.

[4] "Hard to get in to NEMBA" there are 600 (? i think) or so GB NEMBA members, but you see the same people over and over again at the meetings. If you could work on getting more "regular" (meaning they send you a check and you don't hear from them again until next year) members more involved, word of mouth members would definitely increase.
Hey nice sticker, what is NEMBA?

A) "NEMBA a mountain bike group I send a check to every year
- or -
B) "NEMBA is a mountain bike group, we have cool rides all the time and we help maintain the trails, and they have big mountain bike days, its awesome you should join!"

[fellsbiker]

OH OH OH one more thing!!! Instead of signing all teh boardwalks and everything with "NEMBA"...
hows about from now on you sign it with "NEMBA.org" I bet it would make a difference.

[sizlinseagulsoup]

OH OH OH one more thing!!! Instead of signing all teh boardwalks and everything with "NEMBA"...
hows about from now on you sign it with "NEMBA.org" I bet it would make a difference.

That is a good point, I remember saying that once to some local PV NEMBA guys. The average joe seeing "NEMBA" is going to have no idea what it is and is very unlikely to go GOOGLE nemba...

[fellsbiker]

How about more perks for members too? I can't think of anything off the top of my head, but maybe NEMBA could designate a perk-coordinator that could work out more and more perks for NEMAB members, you know like uhm.... i don't know, maybe %10 off at a certain restaurant for NEMBA members? I don't know thats a lame example but its a good idea.

[Baconman]

How about offering forum space to bike clubs? My bike club is looking for a forum to use as a club ride board and to coordinate race activities. The idea is for the club members to access a link on the club webpage that jumps to this forum. After frequenting the NEMBA site, club members are likely to join NEMBA. I took a poll, about a third of our club members belong to NEMBA while two thirds mountain bike seriously. I've been authorized by my bike club to work with NEMBA on this idea.

If you leave somthing hanging in your office that identifies you as a MTBer you will be suprised how many people are interested in taking up the sport or are already involved in some way. I have an old hardtail i found in the dumpster sitting across from my desk.

I've given out 3 applications this week already.

bill

[Tim]

I've got my road bike in my office and nobody's said boo -- but then roadies are different...

Tim

[splat]

Here is a Slightly different approach. when Signing up , give the option of Multi-year . I just had to re-new and discovered I had been expired for a mounth. Not only is it about getting new members , but keeping those we have.

I mean not that it is that much of a Pain to do , but one less thing to do makes life easier.

My road club , when ever I renew I always go for the 3 year option. put a little discount in it too, $1 or $2 per year.

[massmtnbikn]

Here are a few points I have.

A) I would like to see a discount for the parking pass at Massachusetts state parks. Our pitch is that we work closely with these parks, so why can’t we get them to return the favor. This can be something as “buy your season pass at Nemba.org and save $5”, or something simpler at the bottom of a purchased parking pass that would say, “Send parking receipt to Nemba.org and receive a $5 off you’re your membership.” (More members at a small discount will outweigh fewer at full price.)

B) I would like to see Nembafest float to different locations each year. I see it’s moved to CC this year, so this may be a moot point. I’ve gone to Nembafest and Pedrosfest 2 seasons in a row, then passed on the rest. Same-O…Same-O. Bring me something different, and I will look forward to going year after year.

C) I would like to see tours operating @ Nam. It’s got the hype, now lets exploit it. Advertise private or group tours across media. Coordinate with the local hotel accommodations around the corner from Nam and offer the complete “New England Tour”. We should have plenty of people willing to lead/ride/host.

D) Get the website updated with the weekly rides. The weekly rides are probably better than ½ the activity of the group. If an outsider knows about these, they would be more likely to try one out. Otherwise the website leads someone to believe that we work on trails and have a ½ dozen rides throughout the year.

E) I would not advocate passing out flyers, or trying to solicit people on the trails. It brings such a negative feeling. “I came to this outdoors to ride, and now I got to stop and here this guy’s sales pitch? ” The key is passive advertising. Take the opportunity to gain credit for the hard trail work done. Does the new markers at Fells have our name on it? If they don’t, within a very short time our work will be forgotten.

[CTYankee]

I regularly hand out the little trifolds when I'm riding. I don't stop and give people the hard sell, but rather am usually wearing my NEMBA trail ambassador jersey and they ask questions. They often ask for info, so I give them a flyer thing.

[titus1]

First, certainly agree that the Nemba website could use some freshin' up. The home page just does not excite one and I now just go straight to the discussion grps bypassing the home page altogether.

Even did a deeper dive off the homepage finding dated material (gee I thought he Video awards were on the 25th in Somerville, not the 24th in Newton) and broken links.

Some links to other sights (with brief abstract/synopsis) would also be nice. Remember, we are a community that extends beyond the confines of NE (eg visiting riders).

Most importantly though, agree that simply getting the word out through "ambassadors" is the best approach. Was at the Blue Hills Ranger station this morning (flatted on my ride in to work) and though I saw many flyers/postings on board, nothing regarding NEMBA. Even saw that there will be an advanced rider grp ride on 5/2 at 9am, but no reference to Nemba (maybe not involved) nor can I recall seeing it here.

Work the network, whether its other orgs, folks on this list, bike shops, whatever, all are good ways to "get to market."

And of course, leverage Nam, that is your golden goose egg for now and to date, honestly have not seen the promo that would be expected for such a great action on the part of the mtb community. (and is Nam really that hard?)

[pk]

Even did a deeper dive off the homepage finding dated material (gee I thought he Video awards were on the 25th in Somerville, not the 24th in Newton) and broken links.



Keep the great comments, criticism and suggestions coming! NEMBA's board of directors is paying close attention to this thread, and your views are invaluable.

I did want to make sure it was clear that the Video Award event is Saturday night, April 24th at Newton (on the Watertown line). Tickets must be purchased by tomorrow (Wednesday), and we still have a few left.

best,

pk

[fellsbiker]

I'm going to repost my old suggestion, thats further back in this thread, and say on-trail advertising is the best way to get 'fresh' bikers. So on bridges, write NEMBA.org or GBNEMBA.org instead of NEMBA, on the first rung of each boardwalk. If you post signs of any kind that have 'NEMBA' on them, always squeeze the ".org" in there, so people will get curious and go check it out. Now, someone who's never heard of nemba, will ride over the bridges and think, "hmmm... I didn't know banks built bridges", or "hmmmm say what you will about child molesters, they build a good bridge" Also a better presence on the kiosks at the fells would be good. I know there was a plan to do the backs of them all with MTB information but I guess that plan never came to be? And hey maybe a lynn woods fan could start a lynnbiker web site, and like a great brook fan could start a gbbiker web site. Not necessarily as part of nemba, but just to help create a more powerful biking community in boston.

Time for the state to slap on user fees or registration for mtb'ing on state property and give a discount to NEMBA members

Time for the state to slap on user fees or registration for mtb'ing on state property and give a discount to NEMBA members


Great idea! Maybe we can set up toll booths at trail junctions with a Nemba logo on it. Everyone would be excited to see that Nemba members get a discount and everyone else pays full price for public land. I'm sure everyone would run off to join Nemba after that.

Naaa, toll boths in the woods would be out of the question. Maybe turnstyles with quater slots. NEMBA members get to use Candian Coins. Works every where else the public uses public property and there is a need for increased funding and control

[pk]

Yeah right! I'm sure NEMBA would be seen in a nice, cozy light .... just like the Internal Revenue Service!
:P

pk

I like the IRS, good for the environment. Guess more state and federal grants will fix it. Hmmm, where does that money come from anyway

[Drew]

It’s a silly little thing, but a cheap tire patch kit with the Nemba contact information on it could be very effective. Give these things out whenever Nemba has a booth set up somewhere. The patch kit gets put in the rider’s toolkit or hydrapack. Every time they going looking for something bike related, they’ll run into the patch kit and be reminded to join Nemba or renew their membership…..

Which reminds me….

Yeah right! I'm sure NEMBA would be seen in a nice, cozy light .... just like the Internal Revenue Service!
:P

pk


See. NEMBA would be the hero 'cause that the discount would be coming from them and the fees/registration would be coming from the State
And oh yeah, the state would now have more money to do something about the condition of the trails ect

How about a series of good old fashion raffles at selected Mall s around New England. Or larger sports retailers, or sports shows or Ski areas witch support summer programs at times when there are the most people available. A nice bike for a $25 ticket to be given away while you are still there. Along with the ticket you get a complementery membership to NEMBA and an information packet, an issue of Singletracks and a free beer? Who know's. Seem like it's time to hit up a larger more diverse demographic than just those who frequent these forums and the same people that ride the same places all the time. A raffle at one of the sanctioned events from some other MTB or Road bike or "Series" events, or even Lynn Woods on a busy weekend


You know, friday night at the mall..could land a few M Manson types wit extra cash to blow... Sweet This guy could be riding next to you at on your favorite trail next time

Come on, how about a big raffle deal

[bdee]

Man, I think I saw that guy in the bathroom at Borders last night! Seriously, what about a membership drive at someplace like EMS, etc. ? My girlfirends organization (The Norman Bird Sanctuary normanbirdsanctuary.org ) just had a fairly successfull drive at the EMS in Middletown RI.

[sizlinseagulsoup]

We need to do more visibility. We should have had a booth at the Earth Day festival in Boston (mass bike was there doing free repairs, we could have easily done the same). Generic environmental events will be much better than cycling specific events. Most people at Pedro's I suspect already know about NEMBA. I doubt 1% of the people at the Earth Day festival has even heard of NEMBA, despite the fact many of them do own bikes.

Additionally, we could do more petitions in downtown areas. Calling our representives and senators over the local issues is a good idea, but if we have a few groups of people hanging out in local areas (IE, if the PV chapter of NEMBA could have spent a Saturday and Sunday out in downtown Amherst and Northampton and also could of had some students set up tables at local colleges student centers for a couple of hours to collect signatures to stop the logging at Batchelor St.), we would become more of an identifiable organization to the common citizen, not just an elite cyclist. Not only would we be better able to get what we want (a few thousand signatures does a lot more than calling a senate office where the senator will most likely never know you called), we would probably get more and better press and likely increase our membership with people that just like the fact we are working our butts off to keep our land open.

Speaking of which, maybe we should get a petition day going against slashing the DEM budget and attempt to get 10,000 signatures. However, I suspect they will have voted on this issue by the end of the week. Anyone have any ideas about this?

M M I love that guy